Xi Rui brought the other two dandies into the house.

  They saw Liang Youxiao leisurely drinking tea and munching.

  Because of the Bai family’s teahouse, Kungfu tea had become popular in the capital.

  Xi Rui sat over and poured himself a cup of tea. “Youxiao, your legs are still not broken yet?”


  Liang Youxiao raised his eyebrows. “Your legs aren’t broken either. Why would mine be?

  “Why did you come to see me today?”


  After saying that, he tossed a few nougat to the three of them.

  Xi Rui took one and put it in his mouth.

  His eyes lit up. “What kind of pastry is this? It tastes really good.”


  Liang Youxiao smiled and said, “It’s not a pastry. It’s nougat.”


  Xi Rui was stunned. “Is this a type of sugar?”


  He had only eaten caramel, brown sugar, and yellow sugar. He had never eaten this kind of sugar before.

  Liang Youxiao nodded. “That’s right. If you like it, I’ll get someone to give you a bag for you to bring back.”


  He had already bought a batch of nougat, milk sugar, and fructose from Shi Qingluo, as well as Nanxi county’s vermicelli, sesame paste, and so on.

  However, he came back without much bulky goods. Transporting goods by land was much slower, and would reach the capital a few days later.

  Xi Rui liked to eat sugary food.

  He said leisually, “Sure, give me one more pack. I’ll bring it back for my grandmother to taste too.”


  As long as there was something that he could give to his grandmother and mother, he would not leave it out.

  Therefore, no matter what happened outside, no matter how angry his father was, he could still live a good life.

  “No problem.” Liang Youxiao agreed with him on this.

  As the Chinese saying goes, living with an elderly was like having a treasure at home, whether their legs would be broken depended on whether they could coax their grandmothers well. Xi Rui quickly got to the main topic. “I heard that you brought back some Mahjong sets from outside. I heard it’s very fun?”


  Yesterday, Old Master Liang went to play Mahjong with his grandfather.

  At first, his grandfather was very disdainful and felt that playing this would cause his mind to be too relaxed such that he lost his ambition for greater pursuit.

  But in the end, if not because of his family’s persuasion, his grandfather actually wanted to play Mahjong with his three friends throughout the night.

  This also made him especially curious about Mahjong.

  Liang Youxiao chuckled and said, “Of course it’s fun. Otherwise, why would my grandparents like it?

  “There are four of us. I’ll play with you guys for a few rounds for you to get a hang of it.”


  Xi Rui came for this. “Then let’s go!”


  So the four of them began to play Mahjong.

  There was few entertainment in ancient times.

  Unsurprisingly, Xi Rui and the other two also fell in love with Mahjong.

  Then, Liang Youxiao took out a deck of poker cards and taught them how to play doudizhu and zhajinhua.

  Xi Rui preferred zhajinhua over Mahjong.

  He felt that it was more exciting, even though he had already lost a few hundred taels of silver to Liang Youxiao.

  Just like that, Xi Rui came to the Liang family’s house to play Mahjong for the next few days. On this day, after playing Mahjong in the afternoon and having dinner, Liang Youxiao sent away a few other hedonistic sons from the capital who had tagged along.

  This left him with Xi Rui.

  Although XI Rui was also a hedonistic son, so he wasn’t stupid. “Do you have something to tell me?”


  Liang Youxiao smiled and said, “It’s been a long time since we sat together to talk.

  “I want to venture into business, but my father objected to it. I’m so frustrated and wanted to share my inner thoughts with you.”


  Xi Rui threw him a helpless look. “I really can’t help you with this, my brother. If I were to venture into business, my father would probably beat me too.”


  Liang Youxiao raised his glass and took a sip. “Forget it. Let’s not talk about this irritating matter.”


  He seemed to have inadvertently found a topic to ask, “By the way, has your relationship with the Xiao family eased up?”


  Xi Rui pursed his lips. “Eased up my ass.

  “My men beat up Xiao Yuanshi’s brother-in-law last month, so Xiao Yuanshi secretly tipped my father who ended up giving me two strokes of cane.”


  Recalling this also angered him.

  Liang Youxiao’s smile deepened. “Why did you beat up his brother-in-law?”


  Xi Rui said disdainfully, “That guy was already so arrogant when he was in the academy. He thinks that he will become a martial scholar in the future.

  “He looked down on other hedonists and I in the academy.

  “I was drinking wine at a restaurant on another occasion and happened to meet him, so I sneered disdainfully.

  “He actually dared to say that a hedonist like me was good-for-nothing and only knew how to eat, drink and play. If it weren’t for my family background, I will just be a nobody.

  “In a fit of anger, I got someone to beat him up and break his writing hand.”


  Liang Youxiao seemed to have a common enemy with him. “He was expelled from the academy and had a bad character. How dare he say that we are good-for-nothing? Who gave him the courage?”


  Xi Rui snorted. “Of course Xiao Yuanshi gave him the courage to do so.”


  Liang Youxiao asked curiously, “How did Xiao Yuanshi scheme you such that your father would whip you up?”


  To be given two lashes under the protection of Old Lady Xi meant that the matter wasn’t trivial. Xi Rui said angrily, “When I went out to play, a woman suddenly hugged my leg on the street and said that she was pregnant with my child.

  “Not only was I criticised, but my father gave me two lashes without any reason. “Fortunately, my grandmother came in time. Otherwise, it would definitely be at least ten lashes.”


  “Pfft!” Liang Youxiao couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of wine. “You don’t know that woman?” Xi Rui rolled his eyes. “I don’t know her at all. It would be strange if I fell for such an ugly woman.”


  Moreover, he had never been interested in women.

  He only liked to eat, drink and play.

  Liang Youxiao asked playfully, “You figured out that Xiao Yuanshi was the one who did it?”


  If you are sleepy, someone will give you a pillow.

  Xi Rui replied, “I found out his wife did that.

  “There were many obstacles and detours during the investigation. That woman created a lot of dead ends and had a lot of middlemen involved in this.

  “Actually it was my father’s men who went to investigate.

  “They discovered it after consolidating all the clues.

  “Other aristocratic families really wouldn’t be able to find out who is behind this.”


  He snorted again. “But I will definitely settle this debt with Xiao Yuanshi. After all, without his support, would that woman dare to do it?”


  Liang Youxiao asked, “You didn’t take revenge?”


  Xi Rui was angry at the mention of this. “Not yet. My father told me not to go out and cause trouble.”


  Liang Youxiao raised his eyebrows. “You have been schemed against, and your father doesn’t help you vent your anger?”


  Xi Rui sighed. “My father said that I was the one who started the trouble and broke his brother-in-law’s hand. In the future, he might not be able to hold a pen or a weapon, so I deserve to bear the consequences.

  “But even if he said so verbally, he definitely won’t just let the matter rest like this.”


  “It just so happens that recently, Xiao Yuanshi seems to be highly valued by the emperor, so it’s not easy for my family to make a move on him.

  “I haven’t settled my engagement yet. After this, how would a good family marry their daughter to me?”


  Liang Youxiao thought to himself, even if this event didn’t happen, no good family would marry their daughter to you.

  However, Xiao Yuanshi’s petite wife was definitely more than being vicious, she was also very courageous.

  For the sake of her younger brother, she actually dared to disturb Xi Rui.

  It seemed that she really valued her little brother very much.

  No wonder she wanted people to kill Shi Qingluo and destroy Xiao Hanzheng. She probably still wanted to take revenge.

  Shi Qingluo had instigated the old Xiao family to stir trouble and caused her younger brother to be expelled from the academy.

  However, that woman was still too naive and self-righteous.

  Did she really think that the public administrator house was just a joke and that they wouldn’t be able to find out who disturbed their beloved young master?